[STATHAM (NICHOLAS)] Abridgment of Cases, FIRST EDITION, 188 leaves (of 190, lacking index), 50 lines, secretary type, printer's device at end, a1 soiled and frayed at edges with upper left corner torn, ink stamp and early hand annotation, cases numbered in an early hand on some leaves, annotations struck through on last page, nineteenth-century inscription citing Worrall's 1788 bibliography on front free endpaper, some light soiling and spotting, modern calf, gilt lettering on spine, rubbed [ISTC is00689000; BMC VIII 390; Goff S689; GW M43245; HC(Add) 15092], folio (275 x 205mm.), [Rouen], Guillaume Le Talleur, for Richard Pynson, [c.1488-90] Footnotes: THE FIRST BOOK ON ENGLISH LAW, with abridgments of cases decided in the English courts between the reigns of Edward I and Henry VI. 'This book, the first example of a printed abridgment, and the first major enterprise by Pynson, bears no title; but it has been known since early Tudor times as Statham and there is no other candidate for the attribution... It could have been a book merely owned by Statham; and yet a legal joke from Derbyshire (concerning the miller of Matlock), under the heading 'Toll', might be taken to afford some confirmation of Statham's involvement in its compilation' (ODNB). Provenance: Law Society, armorial bookplate and ink stamps; Sotheby's, 6 May 2013, lot 135. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing